A total of five gilded copper-bronze Nepalese sculptures were withdrawn from a Bonhams auction in Paris after it was discovered that they were looted from a temple in the 1980s.
The sculptures were included in an online auction of Himalayan and Buddhist art at Bonhams, which is ongoing until June 10. According to the website of the auction house, the lots in the sale include “Deities and Buddhas, Thangkas, Stupas, Ritual Ornaments and Aprons – all dated between the 3rd and 19th century, and collected during the 1960s and 1970s by a private European collector.”
The consignor, however, decided to withdraw five gilded figures, which were priced between €3,000 to €5,000 ($3,650 to $6,100) each, after the organisation Lost Arts of Nepal pointed out that they were stolen on their Facebook page.
The five gilded figures are among 12 embedded in a torana, or arched gateway, at the south door of Mulchok of the Taleju Bhavani Temple in Patan. The frieze dates back to the 16th century.
The original pieces were documented in the early 1970s by Indian art historian BN Banerjee before they were stolen from the site in 1984, eventually making their way to auction houses in Europe.
Nepali Times, which first reported the story about the looted items, stated that the thefts were recorded in a 1989 book titled Gods are Leaving the Country: Art Theft from Nepal by German scholar Jurgen Schick.
In the book, Schick describes the incident "one of the most odious cases of art theft in Nepal was the plundering of the torana of the Taleju Bhavani temple in the royal palace of Patan".
Following Lost Arts of Nepal's findings and the newspaper report, Nepal's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Nepal office of Unesco called on Bonhmans and the French government to return the objects. Though the consignor has now withdrawn the figures, The Art Newspaper reported that he did not respond to the question of whether he would negotiate with the Nepalese claimants.
On its Facebook page, the Lost Arts of Nepal showed side-by-side comparisons of images of the original torana from the early 1970s that still had the bronzes and the empty frieze after the objects were stolen.
The organisation also showed images of the bronzes that were on sale at Bonhams, pointing out that they match the figures on the original gateway. Currently, the torana in Nepal features 12 replicas of the original that were placed in 2013.
Recently, there have been cases of reparations of stolen objects from collectors and museums to Nepal, including the return of an 800-year-old Laxmi-Narayan figure in April. The object was stolen from its shrine in Patan’s Pakto Tole in 1984. Though it appeared at a Sotheby’s auction in 1990, it disappeared again and only resurfaced in 2007, when it was displayed at the Dallas Museum of Art.
Emirates exiles
Will Wilson is not the first player to have attained high-class representative honours after first learning to play rugby on the playing fields of UAE.
Jonny Macdonald
Abu Dhabi-born and raised, the current Jebel Ali Dragons assistant coach was selected to play for Scotland at the Hong Kong Sevens in 2011.
Jordan Onojaife
Having started rugby by chance when the Jumeirah College team were short of players, he later won the World Under 20 Championship with England.
Devante Onojaife
Followed older brother Jordan into England age-group rugby, as well as the pro game at Northampton Saints, but recently switched allegiance to Scotland.
Ten tax points to be aware of in 2026
1. Domestic VAT refund amendments: request your refund within five years
If a business does not apply for the refund on time, they lose their credit.
2. E-invoicing in the UAE
Businesses should continue preparing for the implementation of e-invoicing in the UAE, with 2026 a preparation and transition period ahead of phased mandatory adoption.
3. More tax audits
Tax authorities are increasingly using data already available across multiple filings to identify audit risks.
4. More beneficial VAT and excise tax penalty regime
Tax disputes are expected to become more frequent and more structured, with clearer administrative objection and appeal processes. The UAE has adopted a new penalty regime for VAT and excise disputes, which now mirrors the penalty regime for corporate tax.
5. Greater emphasis on statutory audit
There is a greater need for the accuracy of financial statements. The International Financial Reporting Standards standards need to be strictly adhered to and, as a result, the quality of the audits will need to increase.
6. Further transfer pricing enforcement
Transfer pricing enforcement, which refers to the practice of establishing prices for internal transactions between related entities, is expected to broaden in scope. The UAE will shortly open the possibility to negotiate advance pricing agreements, or essentially rulings for transfer pricing purposes.
7. Limited time periods for audits
Recent amendments also introduce a default five-year limitation period for tax audits and assessments, subject to specific statutory exceptions. While the standard audit and assessment period is five years, this may be extended to up to 15 years in cases involving fraud or tax evasion.
8. Pillar 2 implementation
Many multinational groups will begin to feel the practical effect of the Domestic Minimum Top-Up Tax (DMTT), the UAE's implementation of the OECD’s global minimum tax under Pillar 2. While the rules apply for financial years starting on or after January 1, 2025, it is 2026 that marks the transition to an operational phase.
9. Reduced compliance obligations for imported goods and services
Businesses that apply the reverse-charge mechanism for VAT purposes in the UAE may benefit from reduced compliance obligations.
10. Substance and CbC reporting focus
Tax authorities are expected to continue strengthening the enforcement of economic substance and Country-by-Country (CbC) reporting frameworks. In the UAE, these regimes are increasingly being used as risk-assessment tools, providing tax authorities with a comprehensive view of multinational groups’ global footprints and enabling them to assess whether profits are aligned with real economic activity.
Contributed by Thomas Vanhee and Hend Rashwan, Aurifer
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